President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visits new Center for Contemporary Arts

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the new Center for Contemporary Arts in Tashkent and toured its facilities.

The Center for Contemporary Arts is a flagship project of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation. The center was established at the initiative of the Head of State, reflecting the country’s consistent efforts to develop culture, support the creative community, and expand international cultural cooperation.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that our people have a rich cultural heritage and a glorious history, which attract well-deserved interest worldwide. In recent years, systematic efforts have been made across the country to restore, preserve, and widely promote this invaluable heritage.

At the same time, the President emphasized the importance of consistently developing contemporary art. It reflects the worldview, creative exploration, and constructive potential of today’s generation, opening new opportunities for dialogue with the world and strengthening the cultural image of New Uzbekistan.

In this regard, the new Center for Contemporary Arts should become an open platform for artists, curators, researchers, and young people, as well as a hub for contemporary creators from Uzbekistan and abroad. It should foster new ideas, professional connections, and projects that showcase Uzbekistan’s contemporary cultural potential internationally.

It is the first state center for contemporary art in Uzbekistan and the first cultural institution of its scale in Central Asia, bringing together exhibition, educational, research, and outreach activities.

The new center is housed in a historic building built in 1912 and designed by architect Wilhelm Heinzelmann. Originally, the building housed a tram depot and was later used as a diesel power station.

The architectural concept for the restoration was developed by the French firm Studio KO. The renovation preserved the building’s historic appearance and industrial character while adapting it to the requirements of a modern cultural venue.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev toured the exhibition and educational spaces, as well as the public areas. The complex also includes spaces for meetings and public programs, a concept store, and a restaurant. The specialized library and research archive, both open to the public, house literature and materials on art, visual culture, and critical theory.

 The center will host exhibitions, lectures, public discussions, film screenings, concerts, performances, creative workshops, and art residencies. These programs are designed to support Uzbek artists, curators, researchers, and young professionals, introduce new professional practices, and expand public access to contemporary art.

Of particular importance is the center’s role as a permanent institutional platform. Young artists will be able to present their projects, researchers will be able to work with sources and archival materials, while the wider public will have opportunities to explore contemporary art through educational and public programs and direct interaction with the creative community.

Such infrastructure supports the objectives of the country’s cultural policy, including unlocking the intellectual and creative potential of young people, developing the creative economy, improving the quality of humanities education, and strengthening Uzbekistan’s openness to international cooperation.

The center will open with its first international exhibition, Hikmah (“Wisdom”). The exhibition focuses on themes of knowledge, spiritual heritage, cultural memory, and the interplay between historical traditions and contemporary artistic practices.

The exhibition will feature 11 works by renowned artists, including pieces created specifically for the project. Of particular significance is the first presentation in Uzbekistan of an installation from the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

The center is developing partnerships with leading international cultural institutions. These include the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the National Museum of Asian Art in the United States, Tate and the Delfina Foundation in the United Kingdom, the Centre Pompidou in France, and Arts Council Korea.

The Head of State was briefed on the center’s upcoming exhibition, educational, and research programs. It was noted that the new venue will contribute to the development of the professional community, promote Uzbek artists internationally, and strengthen Uzbekistan’s cultural ties with other countries.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized the importance of making the center a vibrant space open to creative young people, the professional community, and the wider public. Particular attention was given to expanding international ties, attracting renowned contemporary artists to Uzbekistan, and supporting new projects by Uzbek artists.

The project will also contribute to strengthening cultural diplomacy, shaping the contemporary image of the capital, and presenting New Uzbekistan more broadly as a country with a rich heritage, open to contemporary ideas, creative exploration, and international dialogue.

The center is scheduled to officially open on September 6.